Okay, time for a little sorting fun. Ready? Let's go!
I'll use my Transportation Set for this little game. Because it has sorting cards, which we need for this activity... Here they are (laminated in all their cardstock glory :) ):
Okay, so what do you do with these sorting cards? The point is to engage the kids in playful early math and early literacy. No strict rules or right or wrong--just have fun.
One way to use them: Put the sorting cards that represent the four types of
vehicles on your board on the four corners.
Talk with the kids about what each of the cards mean. Now place each of your vehicles in the center of the board. Ask the kids to help you figure out where to put each vehicle. You might want them to
simply call out where that vehicle goes, or you might call children up to pick
a vehicle and “steer” it to the right spot.
Use your “many” and “few” cards in the same way. Does a particular vehicle carry many or few
people? What do many and few mean?
And then of course you can combine the cards and get them thinking even harder:
So, yep. It's two of my favorite things, all bundled up together: Cats, and Little Mouse. I mean, can you go wrong with this? No. No, you can't. (Plus, these cats are the stars of Kitty Bingo, too, so--muti-use sets for the big win!)
Kids just love surprises, and it's always a surprise where that ball of yarn might be hiding...And sometimes, just to be super sneaky, I don't hide it behind ANY of the cats--I hide it behind the flannel board!! Gasp! The children are furious! I'm delighted!
Anyway..
Ball of yarn, ball of yarn, where can you be?
Are you behind the gray kitten? Let...me...see!
or
Ball of yarn, ball of yarn, playing hide and seek...
Are you behind the orange cat? Let's take a peek!
Fun cat books to go along with these sweeties are right here.
I thought it would be fun to create some holiday sets for holidays that I don't personally celebrate. (I was right--it WAS fun, and wow, I learned a lot while doing research for these sets.) I'm so happy to be able to share these, as I think it's so important to expose kids to various cultures, and to share in celebrations with the kids who DO celebrate holidays outside of my own experience :)
I focus holiday sets on the parts of holidays that kids understand, so the concepts are about simple traditions vs. any religious themes that might be attached.
I also want them to be usable both as storytime sets-- where the adult is using the set pieces as props to support a rhyme, song or story--and as play sets for the kids--where the kids are re-enacting traditions, songs, and stories that they've learned about.
First up was Diwali, and now it's time for Kwanzaa!
Teach the kids how to do this as a call and response. As you sing about each piece, place it on your flannel board, or you may want to have some of them already positioned. It is Kwanzaa, it is Kwanzaa Seven days of light, seven days of light Candles in the kinara, candles in the kinara, They shine so bright, they shine so bright!
It is Kwanzaa, it is Kwanzaa Seven days of light, seven days of light Corn for all the children, corn for all the children, On the straw mat, on the straw mat.
It is Kwanzaa, it is Kwanzaa Seven days of light, seven days of light Lots of fruits and veggies, lots of fruits and veggies For our karamu feast, for our karamu feast!
It is Kwanzaa, it is Kwanzaa Seven days of light, seven days of light Pass around the Unity Cup, pass around the Unity Cup, We are all together, we are all together!
It is Kwanzaa, it is Kwanzaa Seven days of light, seven days of light Gifts for friends and family, gifts for friends and family Let’s celebrate, let’s celebrate!
Naturally, I also laminated a small Kwanzaa flag, so we can play a Kwanzaa version of the Little Mouse game. I'm sure you're surprised ;)
Why yessirree, I do like vehicles :) And, I love counting--counting up, counting down. It's all early math, and I love to do it in a playful way. So today, I've got my BIG Transportation set (which you may have seen here), and I'm using it to count UP.
It's time for another nursery rhyme. Because they're classic. Because they're fun. Because I love the simplicity of a good nursery rhyme, and the absolute lack of making any sense. It's fun!
I do have another version of Hey Diddle Diddle. But I copied those pieces from images online, and I wanted to make my own adorable set! So...I did :) And here it is:
I will of course use my Hey Diddle Diddle Re-mix with this set, as well. It's tooooo fun! The kids love getting things all mixed up!
Hey diddle diddle, the COW and the SPOON,
The CAT jumped over the DISH! The little MOON laughed to see such sport,
and the DOG ran away with the FIDDLE!
Whaaat? That's not right... Let's try again!
(over.and.over.and.over.)
June 2022, editing to add the video:
And I needed a cute nursery rhyme character to hide under those cuties, so I drew a Little Bo Peep, printed her out, and laminated her.
She's going to love hiding, and the kids are going to love trying to find her!
Bo Peep, Bo Peep, playing hide and seek...
Are you behind the orange cat?
Let's take a peek!
OR
Bo Peep has lost her sheep, and we've lost HER somewhere!
Is she behind the brown fiddle? Let's look under there!
These guys will also perfect for a Hey Diddle Diddle version of the Brown Bear concept.
Here's to nursery rhymes!
Oh hey, by the way... If you like rhymes for kids, check out a ton of them
Oh, I love a classic nursery rhyme! (I think I might be an old fashioned, low-tech kind of girl.)
I had an older version of Hickory Dickory Dock, with a mouse. And a clock. But a one use set wasn't cutting it. It was just a little too simple (although I do think simple is a good, good thing!)
So how to mix it up, but keep it simple, right?
Enter the mouse, the clock...and some friends!
Now, going up the clock isn't just for mice!
Let's JUMP up the clock!
Let's CRAWL slooowwwwly up the clock!
Let's RUN up the clock!
And hey--we can give clues to the kids and have them guess which animal is going next...
"I'm thinking of a tiny critter who has a shell and moves very slowly..."
"Lets find an animal that jumps AND has a pouch for their baby..."
"This animal moves quickly, and can be a pet at your house..."
Here's a video of one way to use these friends:
Now, I also printed out a little clock, because why not have a Hickory Dickory version of the Little Mouse game? It's always a winner, right?!
Tick tock, tick tock, the clock is hiding somewhere..
Is it beneath the green frog? Let's check under there!
Sometimes it's fun to count up, and sometimes its fun to count down... This time, we're starting with five, and counting down to none--how sad to see them go!
I like to sprinkle vocabulary words into my rhymes, so we're not only counting, we're building knowledge about the subject at hand. This time it's cat knowledge :)
I thought it would be fun to create some holiday sets for holidays that I don't personally celebrate. (I was right--it WAS fun, and wow, I learned a lot while doing research for these sets.) I'm so happy to be able to share these, as I think it's so important to expose kids to various cultures, and to share in celebrations with the kids who DO celebrate holidays outside of my own experience :)
I focus holiday sets on the parts of holidays that kids understand, so the concepts are about simple traditions vs. religious themes.
I also want them to be usable both as storytime sets-- where the adult is using the set pieces as props to support a rhyme, song or story--and as play sets for the kids--where the kids are re-enacting traditions, songs, and stories that they've learned about.
So up first is Diwali. I made up some super simple songs to go with the set--Diwali vocabulary and concepts are sprinkled within, and the tunes are familiar so everyone will have an easy time joining in.
I love cats. I've got two of them snuggled up and snoring/drooling next to me right now. The poor things aren't spoiled at all. But I digress. Let's move on to felt cats, shall we?
Ah, there we go. And as you can see, we've got a cat version of BINGO going on here. You can see more BINGO ideas here, by the way.
I don't think there's much explanation needed here, but when you flip those letters over, you've got a cat face, which lets the kids know it's time to say "meow" instead of the letter name.
You'll soon have a story time full of adorable meowing children, which should make everyone purrfectly happy. (Sorry, had to.)
Oh, and look! Here's a video just in case you need to sing along and practice a few times:
I love nice, crisp, sweet apples on a nice, crisp, sweet fall day! I also love soft, adorable felt apples on any kind of day. That's why I made my APPLE bingo set, and it's never failed me yet.
But how did those apples even grow? Were apple blossoms involved in some way?? And now that we've got apples, shouldn't we count them? And wait, wouldn't it be fun to hide a worm behind the apples? Yes! Yes! Let's make a huge apple tree set that we can play with in all kinds of ways!
First, let's make them grow. We'll start off with a bare tree, with no little apples growing on it. And then an apple blossom starts to grow...and soon, it turns right into an apple!
I think I was feeling nostalgic for my carefree childhood days when I made this huge Halloween felt board set. I loved all the commercialized, candy-filled holidays when I was a kid, LOL. The colors of Halloween decorations--orange, purple, black and green--were always one of my favorite combinations. Covering the windows in our house with witches and ghosts, jack-o-lanterns and cauldrons... It was just plain FUN.
So, those were all on my mind when I made this set. I just wanted it to be full of cute Halloween fun, and of course I wanted it to be super useful, too. There are plenty of felt board sets that go with just one particular song or story. I need my sets to be multi-use--two or three songs or games per set, at least!
This one fits the bill.
Play Little Broom (a Halloween version of Little Mouse) with these cuties, hiding the adorable laminated witch's broom under the pieces.
Little Broom, little broom, we're searching far and near!
Are you under this black cat? Let's look under here!
Or use the pieces for a Halloween version of Brown Bear, but sprinkle in Halloween vocabulary of course!
And maybe my favorite way to play with these is to use the pieces in a Halloween version of The Enormous Turnip, with all the characters working together to get that huge pumpkin off the vine...
Yep, ghosts are perfect for BINGO variations. But that's not all those cuties are good for. How about a little hide and seek? Oh, with color naming, rhyming and rhythm, and FUN thrown in for good measure. I've got you! Sounds like we need a candy corn and ghost version of Little Mouse, yes?
Yes.
Here they are on video!
Candy corn, candy corn, playing hide and seek,
are you behind the purple ghost?? Let's take a peek!
Or...
Candy corn, candy corn, I'm looking everywhere!
Are you behind the green ghost? Let's check under there!
It's no secret that I love a good variation on BINGO. Some of my favorites include T-R-U-C-K,
T-R-A-I-N, and A-P-P-L-E. You can read about them here, and here, or for a quick review:
But kids don't just love food and vehicles, you know. They are fans of the holidays as well. So I thought, why not give them a little not-so-spooky fun... And if we can mix in a little early literacy without them even knowing, we'll feel super smart and sneaky, won't we. Why yes, yes we will.
The things I don't like about Halloween: being scared and getting cavities. Neither of those are involved in this cute Halloween ghost set, so here you go!
There is a spooky friend I
know and ghost is his name-O.
G-H-O-S-T, G-H-O-S-T, G-H-O-S-T,
and ghost is his name-O!
Flip
over the G to reveal the “boo” on the other side. For the next verse, replace “G” with
“boo”! Continue in this way until you’re
just boo-ing away.
There is a spooky friend I
know, and ghost is his name-O.
Boo-H-O-S-T, Boo-H-O-S-T,
Boo-H-O-S-T and GHOST is his name-O!
You can certainly make this is silly as you'd like, exclaiming BOO! in sppoooky, long drawn out ways, or short, surprising ways! Quiet boos. Loud boos. Medium, fast, slow. No matter what, your kids will be boo-booing, and not boo-hooing, so it's a win :)
Oh, and I can't leave out my favorite Halloween book that just goes along perfectly with these cute ghosts:
Oh, hello vehicles! Aren't you just the most colorful things...
I WISH driving down the freeway was this exciting in real life!
But hey, that's what felt boards are for, right?
So, kids do tend to love vehicles. Trains? Check. Trucks? Check. Rockets? Oh, yep.
So let's put them all together in one big set, and have some good old transportation fun, shall we?
I made up a rhyme to go along with them. Sprinkled transportation vocab and concepts in there. You just pile your vehicles up in the right order before you start, and then place them on the board as you name them. Or--pass out the pieces and have the kids bring them up as you name them.
But wait, there’s more—let’s not forget the boats!
Ship, submarine, and sailboat, they all know how to float.
And finally, our rail friends: train, subway and streetcar.
Look at all these vehicles—they take us near and
far!
And you know how much I love the Little Mouse game, so this set has a laminated steering wheel so we can play that game, too! So many colors and vehicle types to name! So much learning through play to be done!
Steering wheel, steering wheel, playing hide and seek,
Are you behind the ___________?
Let’s take a peek!
OR
Steering wheel, steering wheel, you steer us everywhere.
Are you behind the _____? Let’s check under there!
Okay, that's probably enough transportation to digest for the day. I'll be back with more! I've got sorting cards and more fun ways to use this set...
Hold on, it can't be... Yep, it is already the eighth (and final!) installment of my summer reading ideas for the Tails and Tales theme!
The summer reading program is focusing on animals (tails) and stories (tales) this year. Well, I've got plenty of both types of flannel boards that fit the bill--so I thought it would be fun to add some new songs and movement activities to the mix.
I've been adding new videos of these new songs to my YouTube channel and I've been posting them here on the blog, too.
For my last new song, I've returned to my trusty old dragons. They make me so happy with their cute faces and colorful wings. They've bean soaring around in several other videos, but in keeping with the whole 'tails' theme, I decided to create one more song where we can wiggle our posteriors with abandon. (There really isn't anything much cuter than a group of kids under the age of five wiggling their tails ;) )
So in this simple dragon song, I've decided to count up from zero to five. So many of our songs start with five and count down--and don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with subtracting :) But I'm all for addition, too.
So this one has addition, color naming, rhyming, movement, pretending, direction and comparison words--just a bunch of good old early learning tucked under our dragon wings in a playful way. Which is of course, in my opinion, the only way.
Here we go with the seventh installment of my summer reading ideas for the Tails and Tales theme!
The summer reading program is focusing on animals (tails) and stories (tales) this year. Well, I've got plenty of both types of flannel boards that fit the bill--but I thought it would be fun to add some new songs and movement activities to the mix.
Over the remaining couple of weeks, I'll be adding new videos of these new songs to my YouTube channel. I'll also post them right here on the blog.
You might already know that I love elephants. They are amazing creatures, which is probably why kids love them as much as I do. Of course, they aren't actually quite as colorful as my set, but I do like to make things rainbow-ish ;) Anyway, you also may have seen these beauties in some of my other elephant videos, but I wanted to add some opposite words to the mix.
So here we've got opposites (short and long), a little math and rhyming, and friendship bundled up together. You know: all the good preschooly stuff we love :)
Here we go with the sixth installment of my summer reading ideas for the Tails and Tales theme!
The summer reading program is focusing on animals (tails) and stories (tales) this year. Well, I've got plenty of both types of flannel boards that fit the bill--but I thought it would be fun to add some new songs and movement activities to the mix.
Over the remaining couple of weeks, I'll be adding new videos of these new songs to my YouTube channel. I'll also post them right here on the blog.
So, let's sing about squirrels and acorns, shall we? We'll do a little counting, a little rhyming, a little tail-swishing and pretending. Might as well tuck a bunch of early learning into one short song, right? Right. Off we go!
(to
the tune of Five Little Ducks or Over in the Meadow)
Spread
out your acorns on the board, and tell the kids we are pretending that they are
hidden underground.Have the squirrel dig and
search to find each acorn, and then she can either pile them somewhere else, or
munch them up happily 😊
Five
little acorns hidden in the ground
Along
comes a squirrel, to see what can be found.
She
swishes her tail, and she sniffs the air
And
look, she finds an acorn—right over there!
Four
little acorns hidden in the ground
Along
comes a squirrel, to see what can be found.
She
swishes her tail, and she sniffs the air
And
look, she finds an acorn—right over there!
Continue,
until….
No
little acorns hidden in the ground
Along
comes a squirrel, to see what can be found.
She
swishes her tail, and she sniffs the air
She
found all five acorns so she takes a nap right there!
Oh and hey--if you'd like to make your own squirrel set, the pattern is now available:
